First time in Chicago, been lurking here for a little bit...

Hey guys!

This is my first trip to Chicago and I must say that you all have been a really big help in figuring out what to do. The first night I was here I stayed at the Park Hyatt on N. Michigan. I arrived yesterday around 5pm so I didnt really venture outside much more than 15min (the weather was pretty bad). I decided to stay in and eat at the NoMi lounge. I ordered the French onion soup and a burger (with gorgonzola and grilled onions). Food was very good, but also very expensive (obviously). One thing to note, a margharita, half margharita and half OJ, and it was very good. A friend suggested I order it so I thought I would pass on the suggestion.

This morning I went around the corner to Ghiradelli (i am def spelling this wrong), grabbed a hot chocolate with marshmellows (good but nothing extraordinary), and decided to go check out the observatory at the Hancock building. Yes, I know this is the super toursity thing to do but I thought it would be nice to get that out of the way, and it made for some nice pictures. For a quick bite to eat, I stopped by Wow Bao and ordered 3 buns (kung pao, mongolian beef, curry) and a ginger ale. Like you all said, it was good, quick, and convenient.

I am here for the rest of the week (I leave on fri the 18th), however my work is putting me up in the Allegro Hotel for the remainder of the week. Its at the W Randolph St and La Salle intersection. I guess I am kinda close to Wacker.

Can you all give me some suggestions for food in this area? I am open to any and everything and I love ethnic food. Maybe some good pizza in the area? I heard Brick's Pizza is good but I am not sure if that is near me. I would really like to try and make it out to Tacos del Pacifico but I do not have a car. The only chance I have of making it there is on friday around noon. I have a flight at 3:50pm, so I am not sure that this leaves me enough time. I also wanted to try and get out to Hot Doug's but they arent open on Sundays and I dont think Ill have an opportunity to get out there.

Thanks guys, this board is great!

PS. I was also going to check out Millenium Park, do you think its worth it?

Marc wrote:PS. I was also going to check out Millenium Park, do you think its worth it?

Greetings, Marc.

Unfortunately, it's pretty windy today but Millenium Park is quite nice, as is the broader Grant Park of which it really is a part. I think it would definitely be worth your while to walk around that part of town, past (and into and through) the Art Institute, by Buckingham Fountain and on to the harbour and further south to the 'Museum Campus'. Great views of skyline and lake.

Not sure if this is of interest but your hotel on Randolph is close to a lot of restaurants on that street a little to the west, across the river. Greek Town (Halstead, south of Madison stretching down to Van Buren) is nearby too-- Santorini is the best place there, in my opinion, though others places are favoured by some.

Enjoy your stay.

Antonius

First. You do not have time to go to Tacos de Pacifico. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's in exactly the opposite direction from O'Hare. Since you are a first time visitor to Chicago and looking to try some pizza, I would suggest going to either Uno's/Due's or Lou Malnati's. Both are a short cab ride from either of your hotels. This pizza is the quintesential Chicago Deep Dish pizza. Most on this list prefer thin crust pizza (which Malnati's does a decent enough job of), but you should at least try the "signature" deep dish pizza of our town while you are here.

Other relatively accessable places for you to try would be either Greek Islands or Santorini in Greek town or LTH or Lau Sce Chuan in Chinatown. Both are accessible by cab or CTA. If you feel like taking an el ride, you can easily visit two of the board favorite thai restaurants, TAC Quick (beneath the Sheridan el stop) and Spoon Thai (near the Western stop of the brown line). Do a search on any of these places and you'll find more details. also, Mike G's old post on Chowhound or the newer LTH Chow Mapmight be of assistance.

Thanks Steve and Antonius for the info

Thats a shame I wont be able to make it to TdP.... oh well, next time I come I suppose

There is a Giordanos right next to me but I guess I will go try Manaltis

Since both of you suggested Santorinis I'll be sure I eat there

Also, I was going to go to Silver Spoon on Rush Street today for lunch, bt decided to go to Wow Bao instead (cheaper and quicker, im going to be here for a week so I will have plenty of time to spend money on food)

Thanks again guys

Also, how hard is it to take the el out to Spoon for some Thai? I know you guys really like this place so I would like to check it out...

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Welcome Marc! If you are looking for a good lunch or even breakfast near your hotel, check out Hannah's Bretzel, located on Washington between LaSalle and Wells. It's a pretzel and sandwich shop with artisan breadsa, organic ingredients and an amazing selection of artisan chocolates. For breakfast, a whole-grain bretzel with Boursin cheese and cucumber is light and refreshing. For lunch, all of their sandwiches are great, but I am very partial to the Black Forest ham.

Have a great trip!

Marc wrote:
Also, how hard is it to take the el out to Spoon for some Thai? I know you guys really like this place so I would like to check it out...

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Marc,

The Allegro is just steps away from the Clark/Lake el stop, which gets you on a number of el lines, including the Blue and the Brown. Spoon Thai is about a block away from the Western stop on the brown line. About a half mile south of Spoon is Sticky Rice, another well-regarded thai place. It'd be probably a 25-30 minute train ride. If you keep going on the brown line another couple stops to Kedzie, you're near a number of great middle eastern restaurants.

There are a few good choices along the blue line, also, including Lula Cafe, near the Logan Square stop on the O'Hare branch, and Nuevo Leon, in Pilsen, near the 18th St. stop on the 54th/Cermak branch.

You can also transfer from the Blue to the Red and head down to Chinatown, to Sheridan to go to TAC Quick, or up to the Argyle St. neighborhood for Vietnamese.

You can get full trip planning for the CTA at http://tripsweb.rtachicago.com

Thai language menus for Spoon/TAC/Sticky Rice and others can be found at http://www.silapaahaan.com

Marc wrote:Also, how hard is it to take the el out to Spoon for some Thai? I know you guys really like this place so I would like to check it out...

The el is easy. For Spoon, just take the Brown Line (which you can pick up right near your hotel by climbing the stairs, looking for the signs for Kimball, and waiting for a train with brown labels that say Kimball. There’ll be a map inside that shows the stops, so you’ll know what to look for before you get off at Western. You’ll find yourself in a recently-particularly good for restaurants, historically German neighborhood, especially if you go a block or two east (i.e. street numbers going down) on any of the cross streets (like Lawrence or Wilson) to get to Lincoln Avenue. In addition to German, you’ll find Italian, Greek, Serbian, Contemporary, Indian, French, and others I’m probably forgetting. Maybe not all the best of their ilk, but the profusion is something pretty special.

The other option would be to take the subway, which you’d pick up over on State Street and catch the Red Line. From there you have two primary options – go South (look for signs for 95th) and look for the Cermak/Chinatown stop. There you’ll find this board’s namesake, as well as a variety of other Chinese places – do a search on Chinese on this board and you’ll get lots of occasionally conflicting opinions. Or for another Asian option, take the same line north (look for signs to Howard) and get off at Argyle Street – often called New Chinatown, although in reality it’s more Southeast Asian – Vietnamese, Laotian, Thai, Cambodian – another great place to wander around.

It’s a city of neighborhoods, and (to make a vast generalization) if you’re at all adventurous and into ethnic places, you’ll find the most/best options by getting a ways away from the Loop.

Welcome.

Anyone have any specific recommendations for Marc out on Randolph or elsewhere in that area? It sounds like he'll be staying just a few blocks to the east, at La Salle and Randolph. There are lots of places of various kinds out there, but I've been to none (except shopping at Graziano's).

Antonius

Thanks guys for all the great tips. The el sounds easy enough, Im pretty good with the DC metro system so I think I can manage.

Antonius wrote:Anyone have any specific recommendations for Marc out on Randolph or elsewhere in that area? It sounds like he'll be staying just a few blocks to the east, at La Salle and Randolph.

Certainly, if he's got the money to expense, Avec or Blackbird would be great choices.

gleam wrote:Certainly, if he's got the money to expense, Avec or Blackbird would be great choices.

I have heard Blackbird mentioned a couple of times... What is the deal with this place?

Marc wrote:

gleam wrote:Certainly, if he's got the money to expense, Avec or Blackbird would be great choices.

I have heard Blackbird mentioned a couple of times... What is the deal with this place?

I'd call Blackbird french-american seasonal comfort food. Tons of very hearty dishes. Check out the menu, which will give you a good idea of what to expect. It's a very small space.

Avec, an equally small space with the same ownership, is next door. Menu.

I think a solo diner would feel very comfortable at either place. Avec does not take reservations.

ekpaster wrote:Welcome Marc! If you are looking for a good lunch or even breakfast near your hotel, check out Hannah's Bretzel, located on Washington between LaSalle and Wells. It's a pretzel and sandwich shop with artisan breadsa, organic ingredients and an amazing selection of artisan chocolates. For breakfast, a whole-grain bretzel with Boursin cheese and cucumber is light and refreshing. For lunch, all of their sandwiches are great, but I am very partial to the Black Forest ham.

Have a great trip!

Thanks for the suggestion. After a quick google search, Hannah's is like 3 blocks from me... I will definitely stop by

By the way, as you'll quickly discover, Sunday night is kind of dead downtown, so call before going anywhere too far...

Mike G wrote:By the way, as you'll quickly discover, Sunday night is kind of dead downtown, so call before going anywhere too far...

Thanks for the tip. I was thinking of getting a coworker to go to Greektown with me for dinner, but I will call first and make sure either Greek Islands or Santorini is open

Welcome to Chicago! If you decide to eat at your hotel, you can get a pretty good meal at 312 Chicago. It's mostly Italian food and the chef does a very nice job with meats and game. It tends to be a big pre-theater destination. For the most part, they do a very nice job.

If you like ethnic and spicy and want something a bit more upscale, I'd suggest walking north across the Chicago River about 15 minutes or less (or taking a cab) and heading to Vermilion (Hubbard & State). It's probably a little less expensive than Blackbird (I'd say about $45/person if you're drinking). The food is great (Latin, Indian and Indian/Latin fusion). Another choice about the same distance would be Tizi Melloul Wells & Grand) which specializes in Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food. It's about the same price range as Vermilion.

I live very close to Spoon so let me help out a bit here. You are very close to the Brown Line "L" (it runs along Wells, which is the street just west of LaSalle) but I would walk three blocks east and get to the Red Line (runs underground on State). The Red Line is just so much faster than the Brown Line and runs a little bit more often. (However, please let me say that riding the Brown Line at least once would be fun since it goes above ground and offers some spectacular sights of downtown, especially in the Loop and as you cross the Chicago River. The Red Line runs underground between Chinatown and the Fullerton stop in Lincoln Park so it's very fast but not picturesque.) Heading north (toward Howard on the Red Line or Kimball on the Brown Line). What I would do then is take the Red Line north from either the Washington/State or Lake/State station.

Then, when you get to the Belmont station, transfer to the Brown Line -- you don't leave the station . . . it runs on the same platform so you will typically find one waiting for you or approaching when you exit at Belmont. Switch to the Brown Line at Belmont and exit at Western (11-12 minute ride). When you exit at the Western station, cross the major street just outside the station (Western) and walk a 1/2 block south (left) to find Spoon Thai.

Another excellent alternative to Spoon (not as good in my opinion but excellent nonetheless) is TAC Quick. To get there, again take the Red Line but instead of switching at Belmont, take the train 2 more stops to Sheridan. When you exit the station, the restaurant is right there (can't remember if on right or left but steps from the exit.)

If you would like a truly special evening of Thai food at Spoon or TAC Quick, you should look at http://www.silapaahaan.com/index.html for translated Thai language menus.

I would also 2nd the Blackbird and Avec recs. Blackbird is one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago. The presentations are very upscale and sometimes unusual, generally American food, with much locally grown produce and meats & poultry from small-scale farms. Both are very short cab rides from your hotel. Steps from Blackbird and Avec is Meiji which is an outstanding Japanese/sushi restaurant.

For pizza, definitely go to Lou Malnati's -- best of the deep dish choices and it's about a 10-minute walk from your hotel.

If you're still looking to try Mexican food, you're also only about a 10 minute walk from Topolobampo and Frontera Grill (same location -- Topo is the more upscale and expensive one). They are the Rick Bayless restaurants and you will have outstanding Mexican food. You'll likely have to wait quite a while at Frontera.

Definitely check out Millenium Park -- it's a great addition to Chicago. The only upscale place to eat there is the Park Grill. I have not been there, although I've heard from many that the food is average, yet expensive. But don't let that stop you from visiting the Park.

And if you have a really, really nice expense account (or just want to really splurge), I would suggest you check out Moto, Avenues or Alinea (listed in order of likely final bill) to explore the ultra-creative side of Chicago dining.

I would suggest Avec over Blackbird for a single diner - sit at the bar. It's much more lively, and conducive to conversations with the people around you

BR, thanks for the extensive write up! That was very helpful

Just want to let you all know that I went to Greek Islands tonight for dinner. We arrived at 8pm; I was shocked to see the place completely full at this time of night on a Sunday.

I had the Grilled Octopus for an appetizer. It was very good, not too tough and the seasoning was spot on. For a main dish I did a combo platter with the Gyro (Beef and Lamb) and the Loukanova (I forget how it is spelled, but its the sausage with orange peel). The Sausage was great as was the gyro. Add in two shots of tequila and a dewars on the rocks and you have yourself a pretty good dinner. Thanks for the suggestion

Good to hear that you enjoyed Greek Islands -- that's my favorite of the Greektown bunch.

And you're welcome for the info. I travel a fair amount and I always find that one of the most difficult aspects about traveling to other cities is finding out which restaurants to select.

Be sure to tell us where else you ate -- it's always helpful to have the most up-to-date comments.

BR wrote:Good to hear that you enjoyed Greek Islands -- that's my favorite of the Greektown bunch.

And you're welcome for the info. I travel a fair amount and I always find that one of the most difficult aspects about traveling to other cities is finding out which restaurants to select.

Be sure to tell us where else you ate -- it's always helpful to have the most up-to-date comments.

I will keep you all updated.... I just need to figure out where to eat next... problem is, the coworkers will probably want to go out a couple nights and I think it will be hard for me to convince them to go to certain places that might be a little out of the way when they can just go to the local Giordanos or whatever... Either way, I will be sure I get out to at least one or two more of the LTH recommended destinations

Greek Islands' sausage is one of my favorites -- glad you like it, too.

If you wind up for pizza at Giordano's, don't fret; they're a local chain which does a very good stuffed pizza, one of the two companies who claim to have invented that form.

Stevez's suggestion of Pizzeria Uno or Due is a very good one, however -- the Chicago style originated at Uno (Due is its clone), and probably you can sway your coworkers to the idea that they should try the pizza place where it all started.

Giordano's
Multiple locations
www.giordanos.com

Pizzeria Uno
312/321-1000
29 E. Ohio St., Chicago

Pizzeria Due
312/943-2400
619 N. Wabash Ave., Chicago

www.unos.com

Marc wrote:BR, thanks for the extensive write up! That was very helpful

Just want to let you all know that I went to Greek Islands tonight for dinner. We arrived at 8pm; I was shocked to see the place completely full at this time of night on a Sunday.

I had the Grilled Octopus for an appetizer. It was very good, not too tough and the seasoning was spot on. For a main dish I did a combo platter with the Gyro (Beef and Lamb) and the Loukanova (I forget how it is spelled, but its the sausage with orange peel). The Sausage was great as was the gyro. Add in two shots of tequila and a dewars on the rocks and you have yourself a pretty good dinner. Thanks for the suggestion

the sausage you had was loukaniko..good stuff..i make my own on occasion but the suasage at Greek Islands is really good

Hi,

If you do make it to Spoon Thai, then you may want to consult this post for items to order. Erik M is the same person whose translated menu you were advised to refer to. Of course, one addition would be a plate of one-bite salad.

I am quite thrilled how you used the board to gather ideas already, then asked specific questions. It really helps us to understand what you want.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

If you do make it to Spoon Thai, then you may want to consult this post for items to order.

And, here are some pictures to get you salivating.

E.M.

Cathy2 wrote:I am quite thrilled how you used the board to gather ideas already, then asked specific questions. It really helps us to understand what you want.

Regards,

Well thank you all for being so helpful... I think tonight we might go to Lou Manalti's for some "authentic" chicago pizza and then go to a sports bar for tonight's MNF game. Any suggestions for a bar to watch the game? Someone mentioned mother hubbards?

Marc wrote:Well thank you all for being so helpful... I think tonight we might go to Lou Manalti's for some "authentic" chicago pizza and then go to a sports bar for tonight's MNF game. Any suggestions for a bar to watch the game? Someone mentioned mother hubbards?

Can't get much more Chicago Sports Bar-like than Harry Carray's on Kinzie & Dearborn.

There's ESPN Zone on Ohio (near Wabash). It's a short cab ride from Malnati's. You can walk to Rock Bottom Brewery (Grand & State). I think that Mother Hubbards is close to Rock Bottom (around Hubbard/State?), but I can't tell you anything about it.

stevez wrote:Can't get much more Chicago Sports Bar-like than Harry Carray's on Kinzie & Dearborn.

Great.. That is right near Lou Malnati's.... thanks

Marc wrote:

stevez wrote:Can't get much more Chicago Sports Bar-like than Harry Carray's on Kinzie & Dearborn.

Great.. That is right near Lou Malnati's.... thanks

ESPN Zone is a good recommendation, too, (they probably have many more TV's by a magnitude of 10 or more) but it's not particularly home grown like Harry C's.

You’ve gotten some pretty good suggestions already. Whenever you get a chance you owe it to yourself to get out of the downtown area and into the neighborhoods where you’ll find more interesting, cheaper meals and see some of the “real” Chicago.

I would really like to try and make it out to Tacos del Pacifico but I do not have a car.

Neither do I but I don’t let that stop me. As others have pointed out, going to Tacos del Pacifico on your way to O’Hare really isn’t feasible. Just in case your schedule allows, I wanted to point out how simple it is to get down there on public transportation. The CTA #26 South Shore Express bus runs southbound on Michigan Avenue (between Chicago—800N—and Congress—500S) and will let you off practically at Taco del Pacifico’s door. Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll explain how to get back. You would probably need to catch the bus by 5:30pm to allow yourself time to eat (TdP closes at 7).